Non-Consumer Gems From a World War II Scrapbook

My mother recently gave me a vintage scrapbook that she gleaned from the pay-by-the-pound Goodwill Outlet. (Actually she was giving it to my sister, but I dove in and scooped it up for myself.) It’s full of wonderful World War II era magazine articles that encourage the make it do message of the time.

Check out the article about how to replace umbrella fabric!

Here’s a detail shot:

But it’s not just umbrellas that got the make-it-over treatment:

So great, right?

And from an article about Victory Gardens, a guide of how to store your home grown vegetables:

There’s just so much great stuff in this scrapbook. The wartime magazine articles were messages/propaganda from the U.S. government, but there’s no reason why fixing instead of replacing can’t work for today’s over-consuming culture.

And urban gardens? That’s soooo 2014.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

Click HERE to follow The Non-Consumer Advocate on Twitter.
Click HERE to follow The Non-Consumer Advocate on Instagram.
Click HERE to join The Non-Consumer Advocate Facebook group.
Click HERE to follow The Non-Consumer Advocate on Pinterest.

Like this post? Then please share it with your friends!

Yes, there were good things to come out of the war, such as a “sacrifice and can-do” attitude, and breaking down of employment barriers for minorities (even though Rosie the Riveter was told to quit her job when the servicemen came home from the war).

I found a wartime era pamphlet centered on making do with foodstuffs. Have to love recipes for mock meatloaf and mock apple pie; saltines figured highly in both. We are spoiled now and could learn a lot from our mothers and grandmothers!